China is facing ongoing power shortages in its industrial northeast triggering a wave of factory closures, with traffic lights, residential elevators, and mobile phone coverage also affected in some cities. Power rationing is already in place in more than 10 provinces including the northeastern province of Jilin, amid soaring coal prices. Jilin provincial governor Han Jun called for more channels to secure coal supplies from Russia, Mongolia, and Indonesia, while dispatching teams to secure supplies from China's northern region of Inner Mongolia.
According to an estimate by Goldman Sachs, as much as 44 percent of China's industrial activity has been hit by power shortages, leading analysts to cut their 2021 GDP growth forecast for China to 7.8 percent from an earlier estimate of 8.2 percent.
Some shops and hotels in the northeast were lit by candlelight, while homes went without power and malls shut early, amid growing concern that power shortages could also affect water supplies.
